nd I
would advise you not to speak too hastily. You have already confessed
to the assumed name. I would advise you to be careful in your
statements. And now, monsieur, should you like to hear any more?"

"Yes, yes!" cried Claude, eagerly; "tell me all that there is to
know."

"Very well," said the captain. "Now you, under an assumed name,
engage a schooner to take you, not to Louisbourg, but to some place
in the vicinity of Louisbourg. Being the son of two dangerous
political offenders, who were both outlawed for grave crimes, you are
found coming from Boston to Louisbourg under an assumed name, and
upon a secret errand, which you keep to yourself. Under these
circumstances the commandant could not overlook your case. It seemed
to him one which was full of suspicion, and, in spite of the
gratitude which he felt for your kind offices, he nevertheless was
compelled, by a strong sense of public duty, to order your arrest.
You will be accorded a fair trial; and, though appearances are
against you, you may succeed in proving your innocence; in which
case, monsieur, I am sure that no one will be more rejoiced than
myself and his excellency.

"You have also complained, monsieur, of the arrest of your captain.
That was done on account of his unfortunate connection with you. He
may be innocent, but that remains to be seen. At present appearances
are against him, and he must take his share of the guilt which
attaches to you. His arrest was a political necessity."

After this the captain left; and, as Claude saw how useless it was to
attempt to plead his cause to this man, he made no further attempt to
detain him.

Left once more to his own reflections, Claude recalled all that the
captain had said, and at first was lost in wonder at the gravity of
the charges that had been raised up against him. Nor could he conceal
from himself that, though they were based on nothing, they still were
serious and formidable. Even in France charges of a political kind
would lead to serious consequences; and here in the colonies he felt
less sure of justice. Indeed, as far as justice was concerned, he
hardly hoped to experience anything of the kind, for his judge would
be the very man who had got up these charges, and had treated him
with such baseness and treachery. The fact was, that he would be
called before a court where accuser, witness, and judge would all be
one and the same person, and, what was more, the person who for some
reason